Wine consumption is down, as is winery visitation here in California. Lots of people are trying to figure out why and what to do about it. People are drinking less craft beer, too, and the Brewers Association thinks they know why. What they say closely mirrors what the wine industry is saying.
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| U.S. retail dollar sales of craft beer from Statista |
The first half of 2023 saw the first craft beer decline, other than for the one created by the pandemic in 2020.
One reason for the decline is people are drinking less overall, but the main reason for the decline is an interest in drinking other beverages, such as seltzers, cocktails, and ciders. Inflation is in there too, as craft beer prices have definitely gone up. Beer was the preferred alcoholic beverage of half of Americans two or three decades ago; it's now at 37%. The macro beers have been taking the hit while the craft beers expanded up until now.
One thing that is different is the reliance of many wineries, especially smaller ones, on out-of-state visitors. Some famous breweries get a lot of this, but most are just hang-outs for locals. Tap tourism does exist in places like Portland OR, San Diego, and Hawaii.
The two-week Pliny the Younger triple IPA release by Sonoma County's Russian River Brewery puts millions of dollars into the local economy every year and no doubt gives the brewery a nice shot in the arm. In 2023 the line-up to get in the brewery was definitely shorter. Yes, I've seen a couple blocks long waiting line for PtY in the pre-pandemic years.
Some of this info from a Forbes article
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